World

India, being major power, must be part of Afghan peace process: Envoy
31Mar mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

India, being major power, must be part of Afghan peace process: Envoy

India, being a major power in the region, should be a part of the Afghan peace process at various forums as the country is suffering from international terrorism, said Afghanistan Ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay on Tuesday.“India is an important partner to Afghanistan… We want India to be a part of all those forums and talks where peace is discussed. The peace of Afghanistan impacts India as well… India has adopted a principled position in the Afghan peace process. We would want India’s presence in those forums,” the Afghanistan envoy said.On the subject of Pakistan supporting terror activities in Afghanistan, Mamundzay said that unless the funding for terrorist entities stops whether in or beyond the region, the conflict in the war-ravaged country would continue.“Our President had ma...
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UN panel finds ‘alarming’ media restrictions in Pakistan
29Mar mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

UN panel finds ‘alarming’ media restrictions in Pakistan

A United Nations human rights panel has reached out to the Pakistan government to express its concerns over an “alarming pattern of restrictions” on freedom of expression in the country.The UN panel has informed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government that it has received information regarding a series of “alleged meritless charges” brought against some journalists and human rights defenders.The documents sent to the government by the panel include cases that have been dismissed as well as those in which journalists were questioned or threatened but not prosecuted.Last year, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in a ‘White Paper on Global Journalism’ had listed five countries, including Pakistan, as the ‘Most Dangerous Countries for Practice of Journalism in the World’Th...
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Chinese consul-general calls Canada ‘running dog’ of US
29Mar mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

Chinese consul-general calls Canada ‘running dog’ of US

Alleging that the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ruined the friendly ties between China and Canada, Li Yang, the Chinese Consul General in Rio de Janeiro, has said that Trudeau has turned Canada into a “running dog of the United States”.“Boy, your greatest achievement is to have ruined the friendly relations between China and Canada, and have turned Canada into a running dog of the US. Spendthrift!!!” Li Yang tweeted on Sunday.His remark comes a day after China had announced sanctions against two American religious-rights officials and a Canadian MP in response to western countries’ sanctions on Beijing over the issue of human rights abuses in Xinjiang province.However, the United States condemned China’s sanctions and said that Beijing’s attempt to silence criticism of human r...
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UNESCO extends support in implementation of India’s education policy
27Mar mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

UNESCO extends support in implementation of India’s education policy

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director General Audrey Azoulay has extended full support in the implementation of India’s National Education Policy (NEP) and said that key concepts under the policy like strengthening administrative capacities, socio-emotional learning and environmental awareness are “very crucial” for the development of students.On Thursday, India’s Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal held a virtual meeting with Azoulay and discussed key issues of mutual importance including NEP, India’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.Azoulay appreciated the response of India in mitigating the challenges of COVID-19 and ensuring continuity of education during the pandemic by providing education to the students through different mediums of...
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Chinese tech firms face US ultimatum over issue of American accounting standards
27Mar mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

Chinese tech firms face US ultimatum over issue of American accounting standards

Chinese tech firms in the United States could be forced to leave the US market after the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started implementing a law to remove foreign firms that did not comply with local accounting standards.Recently, the SEC, which regulates the US stock markets, amended the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act to remove from the US stock markets foreign firms that did not comply with local accounting standards.“The SEC has adopted interim final amendments to implement congressionally mandated submission and disclosure requirements of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCA Act),” the SEC said in a statement.The SEC said that it was “seeking public comment on these submission and disclosure requirements” within 90 days of the date of the...
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US to hold China accountable for human rights abuses: US Speaker
24Mar mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

US to hold China accountable for human rights abuses: US Speaker

The United States Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday lauded the sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on China and said that Washington will hold Beijing accountable for human rights abuses against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang as well as against people in Tibet and Hong Kong“The Biden administration’s coordinated sanctions on China are a strong and resounding step to hold China accountable for its barbaric atrocities against the Uyghur people,” Pelosi said in a statement.“America, together with our allies, will continue to hold Beijing accountable for its campaign of human rights abuses, including those targeting the Tibetan people, people of Hong Kong and journalists, human rights lawyers and advocates on the mainland,” she added.Pelosi said that the US Congress will further its actions w...
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Chinese threat to Taiwan ‘closer than most think’: top US admiral
24Mar mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

Chinese threat to Taiwan ‘closer than most think’: top US admiral

Admiral John Aquilino, who is chosen to be the next commander of US forces in the Pacific, on Tuesday said that China is amassing weapons and systems to militarily overwhelm Taiwan, an action it could be “poised to take” within the next six years.“My opinion is this problem is much closer to us than most think,” he said before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which was reviewing his nomination to lead the US military’s Indo-Pacific Command.He further stated that China considers establishing full control over Taiwan to be its “number one priority”.The current head of the command, Admiral Philip Davidson, told a hearing earlier this month that China could be prepared to take Taiwan, the self-governed democratic island that Beijing claims as its sovereign territory, by force within the ne...
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UK says vaccine shipment from India won’t hurt poor nations
24Mar By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

UK says vaccine shipment from India won’t hurt poor nations

LONDON: Britain’s vaccines minister on Friday (Mar 5) dismissed suggestions that the country was getting key COVID-19 jabs intended for poorer countries, insisting that 10 million doses coming from India were always intended for distribution in the UK Nadhim Zahawi, in an interview with The Associated Press, confirmed reports that the Serum Institute of India, one of the world’s largest vaccine makers, would be sending doses of the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca to the UK. Non-governmental organisations such as Medecins Sans Frontieres have raised concerns that shipments from the Serum Institute would reduce supplies to developing countries. Zahawi insisted this was not the case. “We, of course, sought assurances from AstraZeneca and from Serum that our doses...
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Fears of ‘digital dictatorship’ as Myanmar deploys AI
24Mar By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Fears of ‘digital dictatorship’ as Myanmar deploys AI

BANGKOK: Protesters in Myanmar fear they are being tracked with Chinese facial recognition technology, as spiralling violence and street surveillance spark fears of a "digital dictatorship" to replace ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Human rights groups say the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to check on citizens' movements poses a "serious threat" to their liberty. More than 200 people have been killed since Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi was overthrown in a Feb. 1 coup, triggering mass protests that security forces have struggled to suppress with increasingly violent tactics. Security forces have focused on stamping out dissent in cities including the capital Naypyitaw, Yangon and Mandalay, where hundreds of CCTV cameras had been installed as part of a drive to improve governance...
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Hong Kong defends practice of restraining some babies in COVID-19 wards
24Mar By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Hong Kong defends practice of restraining some babies in COVID-19 wards

HONG KONG: Hong Kong health authorities have defended the practice of physically restraining some babies and children to beds in COVID-19 isolation wards after criticism built over the treatment of families under the city's strict anti-virus measures. Despite being one of the most densely packed cities in the world, Hong Kong has kept infections low thanks to some of the most stringent quarantine measures in the world, recording about 11,000 infections and 200 deaths since the pandemic began. Anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus is immediately taken to isolation wards - regardless of whether they are symptomatic or not - and those deemed "close contacts" are sent to mandatory government quarantine camps. Almost all arrivals into the city must also quarantine in dedicated ho...
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